


To the End of the World

by Lumelle



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: End of the World, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2012-12-21
Packaged: 2017-11-22 03:21:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/605267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumelle/pseuds/Lumelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the 21th of December, 2012. Crowley is drinking to the end of the world that may or may not happen. Aziraphale is reluctant to join in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To the End of the World

**Author's Note:**

> Part of my December project, in which I post one chapter and one one-shot for each day up until the 25th.

"Did the world end yet?"

"Huh?" Aziraphale blinked. "What do you mean?"

"The world. End. Did it?"

"You are drunk." He didn't bother to ask; it was a fairly simple observation. That was the only fathomable reason why Crowley would have draped himself all over him as soon as he walked in. "Why are you drunk?"

"Figured 't was appropriate." Crowley gave him a smirk. "You know, with the end and all."

"And I still have no idea what end you are talking about." Aziraphale raised his eyebrows, not even trying to peel Crowley away. When he got clingy, he was very hard to dislodge. "I'm pretty sure we both would have been notified if the end was scheduled to happen." He paused. "Well, we probably would have." Unless their superiors had decided it would be better not to have any disturbances for the second try.

"See, some of the humans think the world's going to end." Crowley pulled out two glasses and poured wine in both. He didn't even bother to wonder where the glasses and the bottle had appeared from. "Like, for good. Some of them are really serious about it. It's like the Great Disappointment all over again, except this time there's Internet." He gave a small giggle. Aziraphale probably should have been disturbed by the idea of a giggling demon, but then, that was what the wine was good for.

"And why would they think that?"

"A bunch of reasons." Crowley took a large gulp of his own glass, though the wine didn't seem to diminish much. "Some weird Mayan calendar, for example. They say it ends today and that means the world ends as well."

"And not just that they ran out of stone?" He took a more restrained sip. The wine was very good; Crowley always had a good taste.

"Oh yeah. There's other things, too. All kind of doom prophets making people sick with worry." Another giggle. Even with the wine, this could get disturbing very fast. "All kind of crazy people getting into it. A lot of people think the Rapture's going to come. Others just think we'll somehow skip to some post-apocalyptic world where they'll get to shoot people since there won't be law or order or anything."

"Oh." Aziraphale frowned. "That's terrible. I hope too many people won't get hurt over it."

"Eh, loosen up." Crowley took another gulp. "My favourites are the ones that are having parties. 'S why I'm drunk, too."

"Right. Because you need an excuse, clearly."

"Like you don't." Crowley snorted. It was much better than a giggle.

"Well, I prefer to do it over a nice dinner."

"Oh?" Crowley leered. "Does that mean you want to have dinner?"

"I am quite busy, you know." He pointed at the piles of books he'd had on his desk, some of which had been very nearly dislodged by Crowley's arrival. He was very lucky none had actually fallen, or Aziraphale wouldn't have been even nearly as accommodating about his silliness. "I can't just run off with you like that."

"Ssssure you can." Crowley leaned closer, his mouth almost brushing Aziraphale's cheek. Aziraphale suppressed a shiver and told himself it was simply because of the hiss. "'Ss not like it'sss actual work, anyway. You just like those dusssty booksss. Like them more than me, don't you, angel? Alwaysss with the booksss."

"Well, they do happen to be my job." He paused. "My cover job, in any case."

"Oh yesss. And all this is jussst work, right?" Crowley's smirk got almost threatening. "What if I bought all thessse, then? Would you have dinner with me then?"

"I'm not selling these." Aziraphale tensed at the mere thought. "I'm currently appraising them."

"No point in that if you're not ssselling." The giggles were getting more high-pitched. "And we both know you're jussst reading them. Reading. Over and over, when you could be out having dinner for the end of the world."

"Except the world isn't ending." Aziraphale sighed. "We both know it isn't."

"Maybe not. Maybe it isss and we haven't been told 'bout it." Crowley's hand was toying with a lock of Aziraphale's hair. Somehow, that almost coaxed another shiver out of him. "Either way, we could go out. Enjoy the day. And if we're all here tomorrow, we can sssay it was celebrating that the world didn't end. It'sss good, right? Being happy the humansss aren't getting wiped out?"

"Well, when the end comes, it's supposed to be a good thing. The good triumphs and all that."

"You helped me ssstop it before." Okay, he definitely didn't imagine the tip of a tongue teasing his cheek. "There'sss been even more booksss after that. More wine. Tea. Passstries." Crowley drew away, though not by much, his breath still ghosting over Aziraphale's cheek, warm and reeking of alcohol. "Have dinner with me, angel."

"You just want a distraction." And yet, he was giving in. "Because Christmas is going to be here soon."

"And if I am? Aren't you sssupposssed to be compasssionate to the sssuffering of a fellow creature?"

"I'm pretty sure all the finer points of my job description don't apply to demons equally." Like he always played by the book exactly. That was quite beside the point, though.

"And yet I'm here and all unharmed." Crowley finally left his side, taking a step back, though his fingertips lingered on Aziraphale's shoulder. "Would you prefer me to sssit on a computer and count all the people who've ruined their livesss?"

"No, I suppose not." Aziraphale sighed. "Fine, I'll have dinner with you. On one condition."

"And what'sss that?" He could have sworn Crowley's voice dropped just a bit.

"Sober up first." He stood up from his chair at last. "You know I hate it when you take a head start."

If there was a hint of smugness in Crowley's expression as he straightened himself, eyes immediately sharp and sober, and offered his hand to Aziraphale in a mockingly gentlemanly fashion, well, he simply chose to ignore it.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [To the End of the World by Lumelle [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10519281) by [illutu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/illutu/pseuds/illutu), [Rhea314 (Rhea)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhea/pseuds/Rhea314)




End file.
